English
misadventure
Misadventure comes from Old French mesaventure ‘misfortune’, from aventure ‘adventure’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘to come, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yéti1‘to come’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniō1‘to come’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniō1‘come’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniō2as advenīre‘arrive, come’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*adventūra3‘event, fate, adventure’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventure4‘adventure’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mesaventure4‘misfortune’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misaventure4
- Englishearliest quotation 1854misadventure4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin advenio
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin adventura
- 3 Wiktionary, Old French aventure
- 4 Wiktionary, English misadventure
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1854, Charles Dickens, Stephen Blackpool: “It is said that every life has its roses…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, Latin advenio‘to come, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yétiWiktionary, Latin advenio‘to come’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniōWiktionary, Latin advenio‘to come’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniōWiktionary, Latin advenio‘come’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniōWiktionary, Latin adventuraas advenīre‘arrive, come’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*adventūraWiktionary, Old French aventure‘event, fate, adventure’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventureWiktionary, English misadventure‘adventure’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mesaventureWiktionary, English misadventure‘misfortune’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misaventureWiktionary, English misadventure
- Englishearliest quotation 1854misadventureWiktionary, English misadventure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1854, Charles Dickens, Stephen Blackpool: “It is said that every life has its roses…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’
come, coming, base, basic, basis, bass, revenue, cum, venue, pug, contravention, quim, 55 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’
through Proto-Italic *gʷəniō ‘to come’
through Latin veniō ‘come’
event, convention, inventory, intervene, inventor, invent, souvenir, provenance, convene, circumvention, contravene, revenant, 22 more
through Latin adveniō ‘arrive, come’
Today it means
noun Synonym of misfortune, bad luck or mishap, an instance of bad luck.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “misadventure”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin advenio, Latin adventura, Old French aventure. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- / misadventure